Gunnedah Timbers invests in new technology
From the Spring/Summer 2009 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.
The new Gibson twin saw has reduced the manual handling of the log sawing operation at Gunnedah Timbers. Photos by Howard Spencer
Patrick Paul of Gunnedah Timbers can tell you his mill input and output without lifting a tape measure, or without lifting anything, really. Its all done with an eye in the sky, a Camsensor Technologies scanning system that is so accurate it can tell him how many logs of a certain size have entered the mill and how many boards of all sizes and lengths emerged for packing at the other end.
The mill journey begins for each log with a pass through the Gibson twin edger sawing system, which Patrick says has added a far greater safety margin to that of the previous system.
Instead of the operators handling each piece of sawn timber, it is now mechanically sorted and moved to the next station.
The white cypress Gunnedah Timbers produces is mostly sawn to order, and where specified a new Weinig Powermat 2000 planer profiles the board - producing a glassy smooth finish.
It is so user-friendly that Patrick is confident other mill employees will be able to multitask to assist the main operator.
These three new installations havent come cheaply, but with the assistance of the Brigalow Timber Industry Development Assistance Fund, a program to help the cypress timber industry adjust to the changes brought about by the creation of the Community Conservation Area in the Pilliga State Forests, they have transformed the Gunnedah mill.
We have outlaid $4 million for these mill improvements and a new harvesting package, said Patrick, who has largely taken over the day-to-day running of the mill from his father George.
The assistance package provided $2.5 million, and it has enabled the updating of both the Gunnedah and Baradine sawmills.
Gunnedah Timbers is now three years into a 20-year wood supply agreement for 16 800 cubic metres a year at Gunnedah and 20 000 cubic metres at Baradine.
The company produces a broad range of Australian cypress products, including solid timber flooring, interior joinery, weatherboards and cladding, exterior decking and fencing.
Woodchip and bark are used in the landscape industry and sawdust for animal husbandry.
We use everything that comes through the gate, Patrick said.
Most of the timber we produce goes to the housing market in eastern Australia from Queensland through New South Wales to Melbourne in Victoria.
We have a good market in the Hunter Valley and Newcastle, and through the wholesale market we supply export timber to Japan and the United States.
Gunnedah Timbers is also an important part of the industrial landscape of the west, directly employing 14 people at Baradine, in the heart of the white cypress forests, and 33 at the Gunnedah mill and in the logging team.
We are pleased with what we have been able to do here, but without the funding and the wood supply agreement we would not have been able to do it ourselves, Patrick said.
Resource security through the 20-year agreements and the government assistance has seen an unprecedented level of investment in NSW cypress sawmilling.
This investment by the NSW Government has had a significant flow on benefits to the towns of Gunnedah, Baradine, Condobolin and Narrandera.
Most importantly, it is repositioning NSW cypress in both domestic and international markets based on its differentiated feature of natural termite resistance, distinctive appearance and diverse product applications.
Howard Spencer Public Affairs & Media, Coffs Harbour
